Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has requested the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue him a certificate of return for winning the Imo West senatorial election.
Okorocha protested that the INEC should not have withheld the certificate based on an allegation by the Returning Officer who claimed to have announced the result under duress. The RO had while announcing the senatorial election result complained that his life was under threat and that he was announcing the result the way he did to save his life and not put his wife and children in jeopardy of him being killed. He narrated how he was held captive and threatened death if he insisted on announcing the authentic result of the election.
INEC responded by saying that candidates whose results were announced under duress by any Returning Officer would not be issued certificate of return by the commission.
However, Okorocha’s travail was worsened by his war with the APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.
While issuing certificate of returns to the newly elected senators and members of the House of Representatives, INEC did not include that of Okorocha whose name was earlier missing in the INEC list of newly elected federal lawmakers.
Governor Okorocha had protested that if nothing is done to address the issue, the countries electoral system may be jeopardized.
Okorocha who declared winner of the Imo West Senatorial district election on the APC defeated Jones Onyereri of the Peoples Democratic Party with over 2000 votes.